Oropher & Thranduil: Thranduil gets a… DRAGON?
by SivanShemesh
Summary: It was the last gift that Thranduil got from his father. Is it gift or a curse? Will Thranduil succumb to his weakness? Crossover with the Hobbit & Silmarillion.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Oropher & Thranduil: Thranduil gets a… DRAGON?

Author: Sivan Shemesh   


Beta: Aranel

Rating: T

Warning: Horror, angst, AU.

Disclaimer: Characters and their world belong to Tolkien. I'm only playing.

Summary: It was the last gift that Thranduil got from his father. Is it gift or a curse? Will Thranduil succumb to his weakness?

Note: Written for Spook Me challenge at LJ for Halloween.

Crossover with the Hobbit & Silmarillion.

This is my prompt:

_Dragon_

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1.

4th Age

**Minas Tirith… **_At night…_

King Elessar was feeling more than helpless against the barrage of questions. What had he done to deserve this?

Eldarion had been more curious after he had read Bilbo Baggins' book. "There and back again: a hobbit's tale". Just why had he chosen that book of all things? Ever since he had seen the picture of Smaug, the mighty dragon, he had been glued to the page, posing question after question, day after day, in sheer eagerness.

King Elessar had already asked his dear friend, Lord Legolas, to come for a visit. It was about time that the elf arrived. Hopefully the Royal family would get some answers to those unsolved questions.

On this bright and sunny day, King Elessar was being retained by the curious boy in his room. There was a knock on the door, and he opened the door, relieved for the interruption. A guard bowed to him in respect and informed him, "My king, Lord Legolas has arrived."

"Thank you. Have him join us." He was struggling to contain his joy.

After the guard had left, Eldarion turned to look at his father, his eyes sparkling in excitement at the news. "Ada, why did you not tell me that Uncle Legolas is coming?"

"I wanted to surprise you, and you seem to enjoy it," Elessar replied with a smile

Eldarion nodded enthusiastically. "Do you think that Legolas will know more about the dragon?" he asked.

"Perhaps," he replied, the smile still on his face. "In any case, it is better that we ask than if never try and never find out."

Eldarion nodded in agreement.

The door opened and Legolas stepped in.

"Uncle Legolas, I have missed you so much!" Eldarion jumped from his bed, and into the arms of his uncle.

Legolas bent over to catch the boy, laughing. "I have missed you too, young one."

"Eldarion, help Uncle Legolas find a chair so that you could ask him some questions," Elessar prompted his son.

"You might need to get another one…" Legolas grinned. He raised his voice as he continued, "It seems that whenever Eldarion asks a question, I need to tell him a story."

"Did I hear the word 'story'?"

Eldarion looked up excitedly to see a very familiar dwarf enter the room, matching the elf's grin.

"Legolas, that was not very nice of you to invite someone without telling us," Elessar teased his friend.

Gimli looked surprised. "Legolas, I thought that you had told them that I was coming as well!" he finished accusingly.

"It is not my fault, Gimli," Legolas defended himself. "Every time you come, you are always looking for food before anything else. I am not going to wait up for you each time."

The dwarf did not seem convinced.

"Are you hungry, Uncle Gimli?" Eldarion asked.

"After the long detour that this elf made, you bet I am hungry," Gimli replied, smiling at the boy before bestowing a pointed glare at Legolas.

"It was a short cut." Legolas shrugged.

Elessar could have laughed. What was new? "I will arrange something for you to eat." He rose to his feet and headed for the door.

But the door opened to reveal Queen Arwen, a tray of food in her hand.

"I was about to fetch some food for Gimli," Aragorn told her, taking the tray.

"I heard that Gimli had come along, and I was surprised when he did not show up in the kitchen, so I checked with the guards to know that he is here," Arwen smiled at her husband, before glancing around the room.

Eldarion had a pensive look on his face and Arwen focused on him at once. "Has something happened, Eldarion?" she asked in concern.

"Nay, mother, I'm only waiting for Legolas to answer my questions," Eldarion replied.

Arwen smiled, setting the boy on her lap. Elessar had placed the tray near both the elf and the dwarf and came to sit beside her.

Legolas bit delicately into a biscuit, appreciating the refreshment. "And what are your questions, young one?" he asked.

The boy was about to reply when a loud slurp interrupted him.

Legolas glared at Gimli. "Where are your manners?"

"I am a dwarf," Gimli replied as though that excused him.

"And…? You should show some respect towards your friends." Legolas' glare was not abating.

"Oh, this is perfectly respectful indeed!" Gimli protested, crunching even louder than ever.

Eldarion chuckled, not knowing if he should interrupt to ask.

"Ask your question, my son, before those two start to fight," Arwen encouraged him.

Eldarion cleared his throat. That caught their attention. In a quiet voice, he continued, "Uncle Legolas, how did Smaug turned out to be that evil?"

Legolas thought for a moment. Yes, he remembered something that his father once told him. This was certainly a long story.

"Elf, do you have an answer to that?" Gimli asked, noticing his silence.

"Do you have any more questions?" Legolas asked.

"I already know that Smaug was killed, but did your father raise him or was it the dwarves who did?" Eldarion asked.

"He was certainly not raised by the dwarves," Legolas replied. Here they go. "But my father did have a part in raising him, not knowing that he was a dragon."

"How could he not know?"

"My grandfather, King Oropher, had given my father something to keep," Legolas replied. A faint grin widened across his face as he started his tale…

End of Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer, Summary and Warning can be found in the 1st chapter.

Beta: Aranel

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2.

The egg looked innocent.

"But ada, what is it?" Thranduil was too young to know. It was off-white, like any other egg, but there were red dots on it.

King Oropher smiled. "It could be the egg of a special eagle," he replied. "I found it in the woods, near the caves."

"Aren't eggs supposed to be high up in the trees?" Thranduil asked. He knew that birds always returned to the canopy in the evenings.

The king nodded. "I think the spiders must have dropped it, although I am quite surprised that the egg is not damaged," he answered.

Thranduil turned the egg around curiously. There was no movement, no sound from within. "Can I open it to see what's inside?" he asked.

"Nay my son, it is forbidden," King Oropher cut in quickly. "You might harm whatever is inside the egg."

"But how can I know what's inside if I can't crack it open?" Thranduil's curiosity was at its peak.

"You need to keep the egg warm and wait," The king replied and continued, "Once the eagle is out of the egg, you will have to take care of it." Here, he paused, looking at his son. Was that too much to ask from the elfling? But still, it was time the young one learned to take on responsibility.

Thranduil had turned pensive meanwhile.

"When I say that you will have to take care for it, I mean that you will be like its father. Can you do that?"

Thranduil was clearly thinking hard, and yet, his eyes were fixed on the egg before him. Oropher could only hope that it would be the death of him.

"I can do it adar," Thranduil finally said.

"Good." Oropher was definitely pleased. "Don't worry, I will be there to help you with it."

"Hannon le, adar."

With a tiny smile, Thranduil carried the egg gingerly to his room to watch over it every possible moment. He looked around him. Where should he put the egg? His father had said to keep it warm. Thranduil's gaze turned to his bed.

He carefully pulled a pillow over and placed the egg on it, then crawled over next to it. He looked at the egg, waiting for any kind of movement. There was none. He shifted a little to make himself more comfortable. Still nothing. He pulled his blanket over it to keep it warmer. Then he peeked under to check. Nothing.

A while later, King Oropher opened the door to see his son still staring at the egg.

"Thranduil, my son," he came to sit beside his son, worried, "Why are you not sleeping?"

"But what if the egg cracks when I sleep?" Thranduil asked, his gaze still glued to the egg.

"You cannot rely on 'what if's my son; you need your rest too," Oropher replied.

"But…"

"No 'but's. Sleep my son." Oropher took the pillow with the egg on it, and placed it against the wall. Then he tucked his son into bed. Thranduil's eyes finally glazed over in sleep.

A day passed and another and yet another. Thranduil continued to watch the egg. He never went anywhere without it, and no one was allowed to come near it. On the last day of Summer, deep in the night, a soft crack woke Thranduil from his sleep.

He turned towards the egg, transfixed. He turned towards the door. Should he call his father? But something was happening. He watched intensely.

_Crack_

_Crack _

_CRACK!_

A tiny red head peered out of the egg. Thranduil raised his hand to pull away the bits of shell on it but he suddenly hesitated.

The creature looked at him. It made a strange sound, something like a hiss. There was smoke coming from its mouth.

And that was when Thranduil screamed for his father.

End of Chapter 2.


End file.
